Direct communicative coupling of a radio source to a remote unit for exchanging communications services with a distributed communications system (DCS)

ABSTRACT

Direct communicative coupling of a base station(s) to a remote unit for exchanging communications services with a distributed communications system (DCS) is disclosed. For example, the remote unit may include a remote antenna unit that is provided in a distributed antenna system (DAS) as one type of DCS. In this manner, the remote unit can facilitate distribution of communications services from a base station into the DCS at locations other than at a centralized location in the DCS, such as at a central unit or head-end equipment. Various DCS configurations are possible that include a remote unit supporting the direct communicatively coupling to a base station(s) for distributing communications services in a DCS.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/278,779, filed onSep. 28, 2016, which claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of U.S. Provisional App. No. 62/234,842, filed Sep. 30, 2015, thecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND

The disclosure relates generally to distributed communications systemsand, more particularly, to direct communicative coupling of a radiosource, such as a base station, to a remote unit in a distributedcommunications system (DCS), such as a distributed antenna system (DAS),for exchanging communications services with the DCS.

Wireless customers are increasingly demanding digital data services,such as streaming video signals. At the same time, some wirelesscustomers use their wireless communication devices in areas that arepoorly serviced by conventional cellular networks, such as insidecertain buildings or areas where there is little cellular coverage. Oneresponse to the intersection of these two concerns has been the use ofDASs. DASs include remote antenna units (RAUs) configured to receive andtransmit communications signals to client devices within the antennarange of the RAUs. DASs can be particularly useful when deployed insidebuildings or other indoor environments where the wireless communicationdevices may not otherwise be able to effectively receive radio-frequency(RF) signals from a source.

In this regard, FIG. 1 illustrates distribution of communicationsservices to remote coverage areas 100(1)-100(N) of a DAS 102, wherein‘N’ is the number of remote coverage areas. These communicationsservices can include cellular services, wireless services, such as RFidentification (RFID) tracking, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), local areanetwork (LAN), and wireless LAN (WLAN), wireless solutions (Bluetooth,Wi-Fi Global Positioning System (GPS) signal-based, and others) forlocation-based services, and combinations thereof, as examples. Theremote coverage areas 100(1)-100(N) are created by and centered on RAUs104(1)-104(N) connected to a centralized equipment (HEE) 106 (e.g., ahead-end controller, a head-end unit, or a central unit). Thecentralized equipment 106 may be communicatively coupled to a signalsource 108, for example, a base transceiver station (BTS) or a basebandunit (BBU). In this regard, the centralized equipment 106 receivesdownlink communications signals 110D from the signal source 108 to bedistributed to the RAUs 104(1)-104(N). The RAUs 104(1)-104(N) areconfigured to receive the downlink communications signals 110D from thecentralized equipment 106 over a communications medium 112 to bedistributed to the respective remote coverage areas 100(1)-100(N) of theRAUs 104(1)-104(N). In a non-limiting example, the communications medium112 may be a wired communications medium, a wireless communicationsmedium, or an optical fiber-based communications medium. Each of theRAUs 104(1)-104(N) may include an RF transmitter/receiver (not shown)and a respective antenna 114(1)-114(N) operably connected to the RFtransmitter/receiver to wirelessly distribute the communicationsservices to client devices 116 within the respective remote coverageareas 100(1)-100(N). The RAUs 104(1)-104(N) are also configured toreceive uplink communications signals 110U from the client devices 116in the respective remote coverage areas 100(1)-100(N) to be distributedto the signal source 108. The size of each of the remote coverage areas100(1)-100(N) is determined by amount of RF power transmitted by therespective RAUs 104(1)-104(N), receiver sensitivity, antenna gain, andRF environment, as well as by RF transmitter/receiver sensitivity of theclient devices 116. The client devices 116 usually have a fixed maximumRF receiver sensitivity, so that the above-mentioned properties of theRAUs 104(1)-104(N) mainly determine the size of the respective remotecoverage areas 100(1)-100(N).

No admission is made that any reference cited herein constitutes priorart. Applicant expressly reserves the right to challenge the accuracyand pertinency of any cited documents.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to direct communicative coupling ofa radio source(s) to a remote unit for exchange of communicationsservices with a distributed communications system (DCS). For example,the radio source may be a cellular base station as a non-limitingexample. The remote unit may include a remote antenna unit that isprovided in a distributed antenna system (DAS) as one type of DCS, asother examples. In this manner, the remote unit can facilitatedistribution of communications services from a radio source into the DCSat locations other than at a centralized location in the DCS, such as ata central unit or head-end equipment. For example, it may not beconvenient or possible to locate a radio source in close proximity to acentralized location in the DCS. Also, directly communicatively couplinga radio source to a remote unit in a DCS may be advantageous if acentral unit in the DCS does not have additional available interfacingfor interfacing additional radio sources to the DCS. For example, theDCS may already have a number of other radio sources connected to thecentral unit. Various DCS configurations are possible that include aremote unit supporting the directly communicatively coupling to a radiosource(s) for distributing communications services. As one non-limitingexample, the radio source(s) may be wired or wirelessly communicativelycoupled to the remote unit. As another non-limiting example, a DCSarchitecture may be configured in a star configuration, wherecommunications signals exchanged by the remote unit directly coupled tothe radio source and other remote units in the DCS are routed through acentral unit or other head-end equipment. In another non-limitingexample, the DCS architecture may be configured in a daisy chainconfiguration, where communications signals exchanged by the remote unitdirectly coupled to the radio source and other remote units in the DCSare routed directly between the remote units.

An additional embodiment of the disclosure relates to a DCS. The DCScomprises a central unit configured to receive downlink communicationssignals from at least one radio source and distribute the downlinkcommunications signals to be received by a plurality of remote units,and receive uplink communications signals received by the plurality ofremote units. Each of the plurality of remote units is configured toreceive the downlink communications signals and distribute the downlinkcommunications signals to at least one client device, and receive uplinkcommunications signals from the at least one client device anddistribute the received uplink communications signals to be received bythe central unit. One or more radio source remote units among theplurality of remote units are each configured to receive remote downlinkcommunications signals from at least one remote radio source directlycommunicatively coupled to the one or more radio source remote units.The one or more radio source remote units among the plurality of remoteunits are also each configured to distribute the remote downlinkcommunications signals to at least one client device. The one or moreradio source remote units among the plurality of remote units are alsoeach configured to distribute the remote downlink communications signalsto be received by at least one other remote unit among the plurality ofremote units. The one or more radio source remote units among theplurality of remote units are also each configured to distribute theuplink communications signals received from the at least one clientdevice to the at least one remote radio source. The one or more radiosource remote units among the plurality of remote units are also eachconfigured to distribute the uplink communications signals received byat least one other remote unit among the plurality of remote units tothe at least one remote radio source.

An additional embodiment of the disclosure relates to a method ofexchanging communications signals in a DCS with a remote radio sourcedirectly communicatively coupled to a remote unit in the DCS. The methodcomprises receiving downlink communications signals in a central unitfrom at least one radio source communicatively coupled to the centralunit. The method also comprises distributing the downlink communicationssignals from the central unit to be received by a plurality of remoteunits. The method also comprises receiving uplink communications signalsin the central unit received by the plurality of remote units. Themethod also comprises receiving the downlink communications signals inone or more of the plurality of remote units. The method also comprisesdistributing the downlink communications signals from one or more of theplurality of remote units to at least one client device. The method alsocomprises receiving uplink communications signals from the at least oneclient device. The method also comprises distributing the receiveduplink communications signals from one or more of the plurality ofremote units to be received by the central unit. The method alsocomprises receiving remote downlink communications signals in a radiosource remote unit among the plurality of remote units, from at leastone remote radio source directly communicatively coupled to the radiosource remote unit. The method also comprises distributing the remotedownlink communications signals from the radio source remote unit to atleast one client device. The method also comprises distributing theremote downlink communications signals from the radio source remote unitto be received by at least one other remote unit among the plurality ofremote units. The method also comprises distributing the uplinkcommunications signals received from the at least one client device tothe at least one remote radio source. The method also comprisesdistributing the uplink communications signals received by the at leastone remote unit among the plurality of remote units to the at least oneremote radio source.

An additional embodiment of the disclosure relates to a remote unit forexchanging communications signals in a DCS. The remote unit comprises aninput interface configured to receive downlink communications signals ina DCS. The remote unit also comprises a client device output interfaceconfigured to distribute the received downlink communications signals toat least one client device. The remote unit also comprises a clientdevice input interface configured to receive uplink communicationssignals from the at least one client device. The remote unit alsocomprises an output interface configured to distribute the receiveduplink communications signals to be received by a central unit. Theremote unit also comprises a remote input interface configured toreceive remote downlink communications signals from one or more radiosource remote units directly communicatively coupled to the remote unit.The input interface is configured to distribute the remote downlinkcommunications signals to be received by at least one other remote unitamong a plurality of remote units. The remote unit also comprises aremote output interface configured to distribute the uplinkcommunications signals received from the at least one client device toat least one remote radio source. The remote output interface isconfigured to distribute the uplink communications signals received bythe at least one other remote unit among the plurality of remote unitsto the at least one remote radio source.

Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detaileddescription which follows and, in part, will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art from the description or recognized bypracticing the embodiments as described in the written description andclaims hereof, as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are merely exemplary and are intendedto provide an overview or framework to understand the nature andcharacter of the claims.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitutea part of this specification. The drawings illustrate one or moreembodiment(s), and together with the description serve to explainprinciples and operation of the various embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary distributed communicationssystem (DCS);

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary DCS that includes acentral unit configured to distribute communications signals to aplurality of remote units, wherein at least one remote unit is also aradio source remote unit directly communicatively coupled to a remoteradio source for exchanging communications signals between the remoteradio source and other remote units in the DCS;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process of a radiosource remote unit in the DCS in FIG. 2 directly communicatively coupledto a remote radio source, for exchanging communications signals betweenthe remote radio source and the other remote units in the DCS;

FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of another exemplary DCS that includes acentral unit configured to distribute communications signals with aplurality of remote units each directly communicatively coupled to thecentral unit in star configuration, wherein at least one remote unit inthe DCS is a radio source remote unit directly communicatively coupledto a remote radio source for exchanging communications signals betweenthe radio source remote unit and the central unit, to be distributed toother remote units in the DCS;

FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of an exemplary radio source remote unitthat can be provided in the DCS in FIG. 4A, wherein the radio sourceremote unit supports direct communicative coupling to a remote radiosource and communicative coupling to the central unit in the DCS in FIG.4A, for exchanging communications signals between the radio sourceremote unit and the central unit, to be distributed to other remoteunits in the DCS;

FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram of an exemplary central unit that can beprovided in the DCS in FIG. 4A, wherein the central unit supportsdistributing communications signals received from a remote radio sourcedirectly communicatively coupled to a radio source remote unit which iscommunicatively coupled to the central unit, to other remote units inthe DCS;

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of another exemplary DCS that includes acentral unit configured to distribute communications signals with aplurality of remote units communicatively coupled together in adaisy-chain configuration, wherein at least one remote unit in the DCSis a radio source remote unit directly communicatively coupled to aremote radio source for distributing communications signals between theremote radio source and other daisy-chained remote units in the DCS;

FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of an exemplary radio source remote unitthat can be provided in the DCS in FIG. 5A, wherein the radio sourceremote unit supports direct communicative coupling to a remote radiosource and another remote unit(s) in a daisy-chain configuration, fordistributing communications signals between the remote radio source andother daisy-chained remote units in the DCS;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary DCS provided in the formof an optical fiber-based distributed antenna system (DAS) that includesa central unit configured to distribute communications signals overoptical fiber to a plurality of remote units, wherein at least oneremote unit is a radio source remote unit directly communicativelycoupled to a remote radio source(s) for distributing communicationssignals between the remote radio source(s) and other remote units in theDCS; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a generalized representation of anexemplary controller that can be included in any central unit or remoteunit in a DCS that includes at least one radio source remote unitdirectly communicatively coupled to a remote radio source(s) fordistributing communications services for the remote radio source(s) andother remote units in the DCS, wherein the exemplary computer system isadapted to execute instructions from an exemplary computer readablemedium.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to direct communicative coupling ofa radio source(s) to a remote unit for exchanging communicationsservices with a distributed communications system (DCS). For example,the radio source may be a cellular base station as a non-limitingexample. The remote unit may include a remote antenna unit that isprovided in a distributed antenna system (DAS) as one type of DCS, asother examples. In this manner, the remote unit can facilitatedistribution of communications services from a radio source into the DCSat locations other than at a centralized location in the DCS, such as ata central unit or head-end equipment. For example, it may not beconvenient or possible to locate a radio source in close proximity to acentralized location in the DCS. Also, directly communicatively couplinga radio source to a remote unit in a DCS may be advantageous if acentral unit in the DCS does not have additional available interfacingfor interfacing additional radio sources to the DCS. For example, theDCS may already have a number of other radio sources connected to thecentral unit. Various DCS configurations are possible that include aremote unit supporting the directly communicatively coupling to a radiosource(s) for distributing communications services. As one non-limitingexample, the radio source(s) may be wired or wirelessly communicativelycoupled to the remote unit. As another non-limiting example, the DCS maybe configured in a star architecture, where communications signalsexchanged by the remote unit directly coupled to the radio source andother remote units in the DCS are routed through a central unit or otherhead-end equipment. In another non-limiting example, the DCS may beconfigured in a daisy chain architecture, where communications signalsexchanged by the remote unit directly coupled to the radio source andother remote units in the DCS are routed directly between the remoteunits.

In this regard, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary DCS 200.The DCS 200 includes a central unit 202 that is communicatively coupledto one or more radio sources 204(1)-204(A). The central unit 202 isconfigured to receive downlink communications signals 206D(1)-206D(A)from the respective radio sources 204(1)-204(A) and distribute thedownlink communications signals 206D(1)-206D(A) over a communicationsmedia 210 to one or more remote units 212. For example, a radio source204(1)-204(A) could be any type of communications signal source that isconfigured to distribute communications signals. For example, a radiosource 204(1)-204(A) could be a cellular base station. In this example,the radio source 204(1)-204(A) would be configured to distributedownlink cellular communications signals as the downlink communicationssignals 206D(1)-206D(A) to other remote units 212, and receive uplinkcellular communications signals as the uplink communications signals206U from other remote units 212. The remote radio source 204 could alsobe a baseband unit for example, that distributes downlink communicationssignals 206D in baseband frequency(ies) in the DCS 200.

In this example, the DCS 200 is provided over multiple floors 1-M inthis example. Each floor 1-M includes one or more remote units 212. Inthis example, floor 1 has ‘N’ remote units 212(1)(1)-212(1)(N) in thisexample. Floor 2 has ‘P’ remote units 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P) in thisexample. Floor ‘M’ has ‘Q’ remote units 212(M)(1)-212(M)(Q) in thisexample. The remote units 212(1)(1)-212(1)(N) on floor 1 are configuredto receive uplink communications signals 206U(2)(1)-206U(2)(N) fromclient devices 208. The remote units 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P) on floor 2 areconfigured to receive uplink communications signals206U(2)(1)-206U(2)(P) from the client devices 208. The remote units212(M)(1)-212(M)(Q) on floor M are configured to receive uplinkcommunications signals 206U(M)(1)-206U(M)(Q) from the client devices208. The remote units 212(1)(1)-212(1)(N), 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P),212(M)(1)-212(M)(Q) on floors 1, 2, and M are configured to distributetheir received uplink communications signals 206U(1)(1)-206U(1)(N),206U(2)(1)-206U(2)(P), 206U(M)(1)-206U(M)(Q) over the communicationsmedia 210 to be distributed to the central unit 202.

The communications medium 210 can be any type of wired communicationsmedium desired as an example, including without limitation, coaxialcable, optical fiber, and twisted pair wiring. Also, as will bediscussed in more detail below, communications media 210 can includeseparate downlink and/or uplink communication medium for each remoteunit 212(1)(1)-212(1)(N), 212U(2)(1)-212U(2)(P), 212(M)(1)-212(M)(Q) orcommon downlink and/or uplink communications medium in apoint-to-multipoint arrangement. Alternatively, the communications media210 can also include separate or common daisy-chained downlink and/oruplink communications medium between the central unit 202 and the remoteunit 212(1)(1)-212(1)(N), 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P), 212(M)(1)-212(M)(Q).

With continuing reference to FIG. 2, the DCS 200 also includes a radiosource remote unit 212(R). The radio source remote unit 212(R) isdirectly communicatively coupled via a direct communicative coupling214(R) to a remote radio source 204(R) for exchanging downlinkcommunications signals 206D(R) and uplink communications signals 206U(R)between the remote radio source 204(R) and other remote units 212 in theDCS 200. In this example, remote unit 212(M)(2) in floor M is the radiosource remote unit 212(R). The direct communicative coupling 214(R)between the remote radio source 204(R) and the radio source remote unit212(R) could be a direct or indirect physically connected coupling, suchas electrical conducting wire or optical fiber as non-limiting examples.The direct communicative coupling 214(R) between the remote unit212(M)(2) and the remote radio source 204(R) could also be a wirelesscoupling as a non-limiting example. Direct communicative coupling of theremote radio source 204(R) to the radio source remote unit 212(R) in theDCS 200 may be advantageous if, for example, the central unit 202 in theDCS 200 does not have additional available interfacing for interfacingadditional radio sources. Or, it may be desired for other reasons todirectly communicatively couple the remote radio source 204(R) to theremote unit 212(M)(2).

In this regard, with continuing reference to FIG. 2, in addition tobeing able to exchange the downlink and uplink communications signals206D(1)-206D(A), 206U(M)(2) with the central unit 202, the radio sourceremote unit 212(R) is configured to receive remote downlinkcommunications signals 206D(R) from the remote radio source 204(R)through the direct communicative coupling 214(R). The radio sourceremote unit 212(R) is configured to distribute the received remotedownlink communications signals 206D(R) to a client device 208communicatively coupled to the radio source remote unit 212(R). Theradio source remote unit 212(R) is also configured to distribute theremote downlink communications signals 206D(R) to be received by atleast one other remote unit 212 among the plurality of remote units212(1)(1)-212(1)(N), 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P), 212(M)(1), 212(M)(3)-212(M)(Q)in the DCS 200. As will be discussed in more detail below with regard toone example in FIGS. 4A-4C, the radio source remote unit 212(R) can beconfigured to distribute the remote downlink communications signals206D(R) directly to the central unit 202 to be distributed to otherremote units 212 among the plurality of remote units212(1)(1)-212(1)(N), 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P), 212(M)(1), 212(M)(3)-212(M)(Q)if the DCS 200 is provided in a star or point-to-multi-pointconfiguration. As will also be discussed in more detail below withregard to another example in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the radio source remoteunit 212(R) can be configured to distribute the remote downlinkcommunications signals 206D(R) through other daisy-chained remote units212 among the plurality of remote units 212(1)(1)-212(1)(N),212(2)(1)-212(2)(P), 212(M)(1), 212(M)(3)-212(M)(Q) if the DCS 200 isprovided in a daisy-chain configuration. The radio source remote unit212(R) is also configured to distribute uplink communications signals206U(M)(2) received from a client device 208 to the remote radio source204(R).

With continuing reference to FIG. 2, the radio source remote unit 212(R)is also configured to distribute the received uplink communicationssignals 206U(1)(1)-206U(1)(N), 206U(2)(1)-206U(2)(P),206U(M)(1)-206U(M)(Q) received by one or more of the other remote units212(1)(1)-212(1)(N), 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P), 212(M)(1), 212(M)(3)-212(M)(Q)to the remote radio source 204(R). Again, as non-limiting examples, theuplink communications signals 206U(1)(1)-206U(1)(N),206U(2)(1)-206U(2)(P), 206U(M)(1)-206U(M)(Q) may be received by theradio source remote unit 212(R) through the central unit 202 in a starconfiguration for the DCS 200, or directly from the other remote units212(1)(1)-212(1)(N), 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P), 212(M)(1), 212(M)(3)-212(M)(Q)in a daisy-chain configuration for the DCS 200.

Just as for the radio sources 204(1)-204(A), the remote radio source204(R) could be any type of radio source that is configured todistribute communications signals. For example, the remote radio source204(R) could be a cellular base station. In this example, the remoteradio source 204(R) would be configured to distribute downlink cellularcommunications signals as the remote downlink communications signals206D(R) to the radio source remote unit 212(R) and the other remoteunits 212, and receive uplink cellular communication signals as theremote uplink communications signals 206U(R) from the radio sourceremote unit 212(R) and the other remote units 212. The remote radiosource 204(R) could also be a baseband unit, for example, thatdistributes the remote downlink communications signals 206D(R) inbaseband frequency(ies) in the DCS 200.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 300 of the radiosource remote unit 212(R) in the DCS 200 in FIG. 2 directlycommunicatively coupled to the remote radio source 204(R), fordistributing communications signals between the remote radio source204(R) and the other remote units 212 in the DCS 200. In this regard,the central unit 202 receives downlink communications signals206D(1)-206D(A) from at least one radio source 204(1)-204(A)communicatively coupled to the central unit 202 (block 302). Thedownlink communications signals 206D(1)-206D(A) are distributed from thecentral unit 202 to be received by a plurality of remote units 212(block 304). The central unit 202 is also configured to receive uplinkcommunications signals 206U(1)(1)-206U(1)(N), 206U(2)(1)-206U(2)(P),206U(M)(1)-206U(M)(Q) received by the respective plurality of remoteunits 212(1)(1)-212(1)(N), 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P), 212(M)(1)-212(M)(Q)(block 306). The remote units 212(1)(1)-212(1)(N), 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P),212(M)(1)-212(M)(Q) are configured to receive the downlinkcommunications signals 206D(1)-206D(A) from the central unit 202 (block308). The remote units 212(1)(1)-212(1)(N), 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P),212(M)(1)-212(M)(Q) are configured to distribute the downlinkcommunications signals 206D(1)-206D(A) to at least one client device 208(block 310). The remote units 212(1)(1)-212(1)(N), 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P),212(M)(1)-212(M)(Q) are also configured to receive the uplinkcommunications signals 206U(1)(1)-206U(1)(N), 206U(2)(1)-206U(2)(P),206U(M)(1)-206U(M)(Q) from the client devices 208 (block 312). Theremote units 212(1)(1)-212(1)(N), 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P),212(M)(1)-212(M)(Q) are configured to distribute the received uplinkcommunications signals 206U(1)(1)-206U(1)(N), 206U(2)(1)-206U(2)(P),206U(M)(1)-206U(M)(Q) from one or more of the plurality of remote units212(1)(1)-212(1)(N), 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P), 212(M)(1)-212(M)(Q) to bereceived by the central unit 202 (block 314).

With continuing reference to FIG. 3, the radio source remote unit 212(R)among the remote units 212(1)(1)-212(1)(N), 212(2)(1)-212(2)(P),212(M)(1)-212(M)(Q) is configured to receive remote downlinkcommunications signals 206D(R) from at least one remote radio source204(R) directly communicatively coupled to the radio source remote unit212(R) (block 316). The radio source remote unit 212(R) is configured todistribute the remote downlink communications signals 206D(R) to atleast one client device 208 (block 318). The radio source remote unit212(R) is also configured to distribute the remote downlinkcommunications signals 206D(R) to be received by at least one otherremote unit 212 among the plurality of remote units 212(1)(1)-212(1)(N),212(2)(1)-212(2)(P), 212(M)(1)-212(M)(Q) (block 320). The radio sourceremote unit 212(R) is also configured to distribute the uplinkcommunications signals 206U(1)(1)-206U(1)(N), 206U(2)(1)-206U(2)(P),206U(M)(1)-206U(M)(Q) to the at least one remote radio source 204(R)(block 322). The radio source remote unit 212(R) is also configured todistribute the uplink communications signals 206U(1)(1)-206U(1)(N),206U(2)(1)-206U(2)(P), 206U(M)(1)-206U(M)(Q) received by at least oneremote unit 212 among the plurality of remote units 212(1)(1)-212(1)(N),212(2)(1)-212(2)(P), 212(M)(1)-212(M)(Q) to the at least one remoteradio source 204(R) (block 324).

FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of another exemplary DCS 400 thatincludes a central unit 402 configured to distribute communicationssignals with a plurality of remote units 412 each directlycommunicatively coupled to the central unit 402 in a star configuration.As discussed below, a remote unit 412 in the DCS 400 is a radio sourceremote unit 412(R) directly communicatively coupled to a remote radiosource 404(R) for distributing communications signals between the radiosource remote unit 412(R) and the central unit 402. In this regard, thecentral unit 402 is configured to distribute remote downlinkcommunications signals 406D(R) received from the radio source remoteunit 412(R) to the remote units 412 in the DCS 400. The central unit 402is also configured to distribute uplink communications signals 406Ureceived from remote units 412 that received such uplink communicationssignals 406U from client devices 408, to the remote radio source 404(R).

In this regard, with reference to FIG. 4A, the DCS 400 includes thecentral unit 402 that is communicatively coupled to one or more radiosources 404(1)-404(A). The central unit 402 is configured to receivedownlink communications signals 406D(1)-406D(A) from the respectiveradio sources 404(1)-404(A) and distribute the downlink communicationssignals 406D(1)-406D(A) over individual communications media410(1)(1)-410(1)(N), 410(2)(1)-410(2)(P), 410(M)(1)-410(M)(Q) coupled torespective remote units 412(1)(1)-412(1)(N), 412(2)(1)-412(2)(P),412(M)(1)-412(M)(Q) provided over floors 1-M. For example, the radiosource 404(1)-404(A) could be any type of communications signal sourcethat is configured to distribute communications signals, includingwithout limitation, a cellular base station and a baseband unit.

In this example, the DCS 400 is provided over multiple floors 1-M inthis example. Each floor 1-M includes one or more remote units 412. Inthis example, floor 1 has ‘N’ remote units 412(1)(1)-412(1)(N) in thisexample. Floor 2 has ‘P’ remote units 412(2)(1)-412(2)(P) in thisexample. Floor ‘M’ has ‘Q’ remote units 412(M)(1)-412(M)(Q) in thisexample. The remote units 412(1)(1)-412(1)(N) on floor 1 are configuredto receive uplink communications signals 406U(1)(1)-406U(1)(N) fromclient devices 408. The remote units 412(2)(1)-412(2)(P) on floor 2 areconfigured to receive uplink communications signals406U(2)(1)-406U(2)(P) from the client devices 408. The remote units412(M)(1)-412(M)(Q) on floor M are configured to receive uplinkcommunications signals 406U(M)(1)-406U(M)(Q) from the client devices408. The remote units 412(1)(1)-412(1)(N), 412(2)(1)-412(2)(P),412(M)(1)-412(M)(Q) are configured to distribute their received uplinkcommunications signals 412U(1)(1)-412U(1)(N), 412U(2)(1)-412U(2)(P),412U(M)(1)-412U(M)(Q) over individual communications media410(1)(1)-410(1)(N), 410(2)(1)-410(2)(P), 410(M)(1)-410(M)(Q) to thecentral unit 402 in a star or point-to-multipoint configuration.

With continuing reference to FIG. 4A, the DCS 400 also includes a radiosource remote unit 412(R). The radio source remote unit 412(R) isdirectly communicatively coupled via a direct communicative coupling414(R) to a remote radio source 404(R) for distributing downlinkcommunications signals 406D(R) and uplink communications signals 406U(R)between the remote radio source 404(R) and other remote units 412 in theDCS 400. In this example, remote unit 412(M)(2) in floor M is the radiosource remote unit 412(R). Just as for the radio sources 404(1)-404(A),the remote radio source 404(R) could be any type of radio source that isconfigured to distribute communications signals. For example, the remoteradio source 404(R) could be a cellular base station. The directcommunicative coupling 414(R) between the remote radio source 404(R) andthe radio source remote unit 412(R) could be a direct or indirectphysically connected coupling, such as electrical conducting wire oroptical fiber as non-limiting examples. The direct communicativecoupling 414(R) between the remote radio source 404(R) and the radiosource remote unit 412(R) could also be a wireless coupling as anon-limiting example.

In addition to being able to exchange the downlink and uplinkcommunications signals 406D(1)-406D(A), 406U(M)(2) with the central unit402, the radio source remote unit 412(R) is configured to receive remotedownlink communications signals 406D(R) from the remote radio source404(R) through the direct communicative coupling 414(R). The radiosource remote unit 412(R) is configured to distribute the receivedremote downlink communications signals 406D(R) to a client device 408communicatively coupled to the radio source remote unit 412(R). Theradio source remote unit 412(R) is also configured to distribute theremote downlink communications signals 406D(R) directly to the centralunit 402 to then be further distributed to at least one other remoteunit 412 among the plurality of remote units 412(1)(1)-412(1)(N),412(2)(1)-412(2)(P), 412(M)(1), 412(M)(3)-412(M)(Q) in the DCS 400. Theradio source remote unit 412(R) is also configured to distribute uplinkcommunications signals 406U(M)(2) received from a client device 408 tothe remote radio source 404(R).

With continuing reference to FIG. 4A, the radio source remote unit412(R) is also configured to distribute the received uplinkcommunications signals 406U(1)(1)-406U(1)(N), 406U(2)(1)-406U(2)(P),406U(M)(1)-406U(M)(Q) received by one or more of the other remote units412(1)(1)-412(1)(N), 412(2)(1)-412(2)(P), 412(M)(1), 412(M)(3)-412(M)(Q)to the remote radio source 404(R). In this example, the uplinkcommunications signals 406U(1)(1)-406U(1)(N), 406U(2)(1)-406U(2)(P),406U(M)(1)-406U(M)(Q) are received by the radio source remote unit412(R) through the central unit 402 in a star configuration.

FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of an exemplary radio source remote unit412(R) in the DCS 400 in FIG. 4A. As discussed above, the radio sourceremote unit 412(R) supports direct communicative coupling to the remoteradio source 404(R) and a communicative coupling to the central unit 402in the DCS 400 in FIG. 4A, for distributing communications signals. Inthis regard, the radio source remote unit 412(R) in this exampleincludes a processing circuit 416 in the form of digital signalprocessor (DSP) block 418 in this example. The DSP block 418 isconfigured to receive and distribute communications signals betweenvarious interfaces to support distribution of communications signals toand from the central unit 402 and to and from the directly coupledremote radio source 404(R). It should be noted that the remote radiosource 404(R) and the radio sources 404(1)-404(A) may generate more thana single channel. However for simplifying the explanation, it is assumedthat the remote radio source 404(R) and the radio sources 404(1)-404(A)provide a service in a single channel. In this regard, the radio sourceremote unit 412(R) includes an input interface in the form of an inputcentral input interface 420I and an output interface in the form of acentral output interface 420O for distributing communications signals toand from the central unit 402. In this example, the central inputinterface 420I is an optical interface and is configured to receive thedownlink communications signals 406D(1)-406D(A) as optical downlinkcommunications signals. As discussed below, the DSP block 418distributes the downlink communications signals 406D(1)-406D(A) torespective band circuits 422(1)-422(A) to be distributed wirelessly toclient devices 408. Also in this example, because the radio sourceremote unit 412(R) is directly communicatively coupled to the remoteradio source 404(R), the DSP block 418 is also configured to receivecombined remote uplink communications signals 406U(R)(C) through thecentral input interface 420I to be distributed to the remote radiosource 404(R). This is because the remote downlink communicationssignals 406D(R) from the remote radio source 404(R) are distributed toother remote units 412 via the central unit 402. In this regard, the DSPblock 418 can distribute the combined remote uplink communicationssignal 406U(R)(C) over the central input interface 420I to the remoteradio source 404(R).

With continuing reference to FIG. 4B, the DSP block 418 is alsoconfigured to receive the uplink communications signals 406U(1)-406U(A)from the band circuits 422(1)-422(A) from client devices and distributethem over the central output interface 420O to the central unit 402.Because the radio source remote unit 412(R) is directly communicativelycoupled to the remote radio source 404(R), the DSP block 418 is alsoconfigured to distribute received remote downlink communications signals406D(R) from the remote radio source 404(R) to be distributed over thecentral output interface 420O to be distributed to the central unit 402.

With continuing reference to FIG. 4B, the DSP block 418 also includes aremote input interface 424I and a remote output interface 424O. The DSPblock 418 is configured to receive the remote downlink communicationsignals 406D(R) through the remote output interface 424O from the remoteradio source 404(R). As discussed above, the DSP block 418 of the radiosource remote unit 412(R) is directly communicatively coupled throughthe direct communicative coupling 414(R) to the remote radio source404(R). As also discussed above, the DSP block 418 is configured todistribute the received remote downlink communication signals 406D(R) tothe band circuit 422(R) to be distributed to a client device 408 of theradio source remote unit 412(R). As discussed above, the DSP block 418is also configured to distribute the received remote downlinkcommunication signals 406D(R) to the central output interface 420O to bedistributed to the central unit 402, to be distributed to other remoteunits 412.

With continuing reference to FIG. 4B, the DSP block 418 is alsoconfigured to distribute received remote uplink communications signals406U(R) through the remote input interface 424I to the remote radiosource 404(R). As discussed above, the DSP block 418 of the radio sourceremote unit 412(R) is configured to receive the remote uplinkcommunication signals 406U(R) from the band circuit 422(R) from a clientdevice and/or from the central unit 402 through the central inputinterface 420I from client devices communicatively coupled to otherremote units 412 to which the remote downlink communication signals406D(R) were distributed.

With continuing reference to FIG. 4B, the DSP block 418 also includesclient device output interfaces 426O(1)-426O(A), 426O(R) and clientdevice input interfaces 426I(1)-426I(A), 426I(R). The DSP block 418 isconfigured to distribute the downlink communications signals406D(1)-406D(A) received through the central input interface 420I to therespective client device output interfaces 426O(1)-426O(A) to bedistributed to respective client devices. In this regard, the clientdevice output interfaces 426O(1)-426O(A) are coupled to respective bandcircuits 422(1)-422(A) to process the received downlink communicationssignals 406D(1)-406D(A) before being wirelessly transmitted to clientdevices. Also, the DSP block 418 is configured to distribute the remotedownlink communications signals 406D(R) received through the remoteinput interface 424I from the remote radio source 404(R) to a clientdevice output interface 426O(R) to be distributed to respective clientdevices. In this regard, the client device output interfaces426O(1)-426O(A), 426O(R) are coupled to respective band circuits422(1)-422(A), 422(R) to process the received downlink communicationssignals 406D(1)-406D(A), 406D(R) before being wirelessly transmitted toclient devices. For example, each band circuit 422(1)-422(A), 422(R) mayinclude a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) coupled to a respectiveclient device output interface 426O(1)-426O(A), 426O(R) as shown in FIG.4B, to convert the received downlink communications signals406D(1)-406D(A), 406D(R) from a digital format to an analog format. Eachband circuit 422(1)-422(A), 422(R) may also include downlink RFcircuits, as shown in FIG. 4B, to process (e.g., filter) the receiveddownlink communications signals 406D(1)-406D(A), 406D(R) into differentradio bands. The DSP block 418 may have also filtered the downlinkcommunications signals 406D(1)-406D(A), 406D(R) before being distributedto the different client device output interfaces 426O(1)-426O(A),426O(R). The processed downlink communications signals 406D(1)-406D(A),406D(R) can then be wirelessly transmitted through wireless interface428 to one or more antennas 430 to be wirelessly transmitted.

With continuing reference to FIG. 4B, the DSP block 418 is alsoconfigured to receive uplink communications signals 406U(1)-406U(A) andremote uplink communications signals 406U(R) from client devices throughrespective client device input interfaces 426I(1)-426I(A), 426I(R). Inthis regard, the antenna 430 is configured to wirelessly receive theuplink communications signals 406U(1)-406U(A) and remote uplinkcommunications signals 406U(R) and provide such signals to therespective band circuits 422(1)-422(A), 422(R) via the wirelessinterface 428. The received uplink communications signals406U(1)-406U(A) and remote uplink communications signals 406U(R) areprovided to respective uplink (UL) RF circuits in the band circuits422(1)-422(A), 422(R) for processing (e.g., filtering). The receiveduplink communications signals 406U(1)-406U(A) and remote uplinkcommunications signals 406U(R) may also be provided to respectiveanalog-to-digital converters (ADCs) to convert the uplink communicationssignals 406U(1)-406U(A) and remote uplink communications signals 406U(R)from an analog to a digital format, if for example, the processingcircuit 416 is configured to process signals in a digital format, as isthe case in this example with the DSP block 418. The received uplinkcommunications signals 406U(1)-406U(A) and remote uplink communicationssignals 406U(R) are then provided by the respective band circuits422(1)-422(A), 422(R) to respective client device input interfaces426I(1)-426I(A), 426(R) to be provided to the processing circuit 416. Aspreviously discussed, the DSP block 418 is configured to route ordistribute the received uplink communications signals 406U(1)-406U(A) tothe central unit 402 over the central output interface 420O. The DSPblock 418 is configured to route or distribute the received remoteuplink communications signals 406U(R) to the remote output interface424O to be provided to the directly coupled remote radio source 404(R).

FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram of the central unit 402 that can beprovided in the DCS 400 in FIG. 4A, to support exchanging communicationssignals with the remote radio source 404(R) directly communicativelycoupled to the radio source remote unit 412(R). As shown in FIG. 4C, thecentral unit 402 includes a processing circuit 432. The processingcircuit 432 may be a DSP block 434 as an example to digitally processthe communication signals. For example, the radio sources 404(1)-404(A)may be configured to provide the downlink communications signals406D(1)-406D(A) over respective input interfaces 436I(1)-436I(A) to theDSP block 434 in a digital format, including but not limited to digitalbaseband. The input interfaces 436I(1)-436I(A) may be optical interfacesto receive the downlink communications signals 406D(1)-406D(A) from theradio sources 404(1)-404(A) as optical downlink communications signals.The processing circuit 432 is also configured to provide the uplinkcommunications signals 406U(1)(a)-406U(1)(b)-406U(A)(a)-406U(A)(b) overrespective output interfaces 436O(1)-436O(A), which may also be opticalinterfaces.

With continuing reference to FIG. 4C, the processing circuit 432 isconfigured to process the received downlink communications signals406D(1)-406D(A) and route the downlink communications signals406D(1)-406D(A) to different remote units 412. In this example, thedownlink communications signals 406D(1)-406D(A) are routed to groups ofremote units 412, which are labeled remote unit grouping 412(A) andremote unit grouping 412(B) for exemplary purposes. In this regard, theprocessing circuit 432 routes the downlink communications signals406D(1)-406D(A) over a remote unit output interface 438O(1) to remoteunit grouping 412(A). The remote unit output interface 438O(1) may be anoptical interface. The processing circuit 432 also routes the downlinkcommunications signals 406D(1)-406D(A) over a remote unit outputinterface 438O(A) to remote unit grouping 412(B). The remote unit outputinterface 438O(A) may also be an optical interface. The processingcircuit 432 also routes the downlink communications signals406D(1)-406D(A) over a remote unit output interface 438O(R) to radiosource remote unit 412(R). The remote unit output interface 438O(R) mayalso be an optical interface. The processing circuit 432 also routes thereceived remote downlink communications signals 406D(R) received on aremote uplink input interface 438I(R) to the remote unit outputinterfaces 438O(1)-438O(A) to be distributed to remote unit groupings412(A), 412(B).

With continuing reference to FIG. 4C, the processing circuit 432 is alsoconfigured to receive uplink communications signals406U(1)(a)-406U(A)(a)-40406U(1)(b)-406U(A)(b) over respective remoteuplink input interfaces 438I(1)-438I(A) from the remote unit groupings412(A), 412(B) to be distributed to the radio sources 404(1)-404(A) overthe respective output interfaces 436O(1)-436O(A). ‘a’ and ‘b’ in theuplink communications signals406U(1)(a)-406U(A)(a)-40406U(1)(b)-406U(A)(b) represent differentservices ‘a’ and ‘b’ from the respective remote unit groupings 412(A),412(B). The processing circuit 432 is also configured to receive remoteuplink communications signals 406U(R) over remote uplink input interface438I(R) from the radio source remote unit 412(R) to be distributed tothe other remote unit groupings 412(A), 412(B) over the respectiveremote unit output interfaces 438O(1)-438O(A). The processing circuit432 is also configured to receive remote uplink communications signals406U(R) over remote uplink input interfaces 438I(1)-438I(A) from theremote unit groupings 412(A), 412(B) to be distributed to the remoteradio source 404(R) over the remote output interface 436O(R).

In this example, based on the grouping of remote unit groupings 412(A)and 412(B), the processing circuit 432 is configured to receive uplinkcommunications signals 406U(1)(a)-406U(A)(a) and remote uplinkcommunications signals 406U(R)(a) for remote unit grouping 412(A) on theremote uplink input interface 438I(1). The processing circuit 432 isconfigured to receive uplink communications signals406U(1)(b)-406U(A)(b) and remote uplink communications signals406U(R)(b) from remote unit grouping 412(B) on the remote uplink inputinterface 438I(A). Uplink communications signals 406U(1)(a)-406U(A)(a)and 406U(1)(b)-406U(A)(b) from remote unit groupings 412(A), 412(B) canbe combined in the processing circuit 432 to be provided as uplinkcommunications signals 406U(1)-406U(A). Remote uplink communicationssignals 406U(R)(a) and 406U(R)(b) from remote unit groupings 412(A),412(B) can be combined in the processing circuit 432 to be provided asremote uplink communications signals 406U(R).

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of another exemplary DCS 500 thatincludes a central unit 502 configured to distribute communicationssignals with a plurality of remote units 512 communicatively coupled ina daisy-chain configuration. As discussed below, a remote unit 512 inthe DCS 500 is also a radio source remote unit 512(R) directlycommunicatively coupled to a remote radio source 504(R). In this manner,the DCS 500 supports distribution of communications signals between theremote radio source 504(R) to the other remote units 512, through theradio source remote unit 512(R) being communicatively coupled to theother remote units 512 in a daisy-chained arrangement.

In this regard, with reference to FIG. 5A, the DCS 500 includes thecentral unit 502 that is communicatively coupled to one or more radiosources 504(1)-504(A). The central unit 502 is configured to receivedownlink communications signals 506D(1)-506D(A) from the respectiveradio sources 504(1)-504(A). For example, the radio source 504(1)-504(A)could be any type of communications signal source that is configured todistribute communications signals, including without limitation, acellular base station and a baseband unit. In this example, the DCS 500is provided over multiple floors 1-M in this example. The central unit502 is configured to distribute the downlink communications signals506D(1)-506D(A) to respective daisy-chained remote units512(1)(1)-512(1)(N), 512(2)(1)-512(2)(P), 512(M)(1)-512(M)(Q) providedover floors 1-M. Each floor 1-M includes one or more remote units 512.In this example, floor 1 has ‘N’ remote units 512(1)(1)-512(1)(N) inthis example that are daisy-chained together. Communications media510(1)(1-2) communicatively couples remote unit 512(1)(1) to 512(1)(2)in a daisy-chain arrangement. Communications media 510(1)(2-N)represents communicative coupling of remote units 512(1)(2) to 512(1)(N)in FIG. 5A in a daisy-chain arrangement. Note that additionalcommunications media are provided if more remote units 512(1)( ) areprovided on the floor 1. Floor 2 has ‘P’ remote units512(2)(1)-512(2)(P) in this example. Communications media 510(2)(1-2)communicatively couples remote unit 512(2)(1) to 512(2)(2) in adaisy-chain arrangement. Communications media 510(2)(2-P) representscommunicative coupling of remote units 512(2)(2) to 512(2)(P) in adaisy-chain arrangement. Floor ‘M’ has ‘Q’ remote units512(M)(1)-512(M)(Q) in this example. Communications media 510(M)(1-2)communicatively couples remote unit 512(M)(1) to 512(M)(2) in adaisy-chain arrangement. Communications media 510(M)(2-Q) representscommunicatively coupling of remote units 512(M)(2) to 512(M)(Q) in adaisy-chain arrangement. Remote unit 512(1)(N) is shown as beingcommunicatively coupled to the central unit 502 via communications media510(1-C).

The remote units 512(1)(1)-512(1)(N) on floor 1 are configured toreceive uplink communications signals 506U(1)(1)-506U(1)(N) from clientdevices 508. The remote units 512(2)(1)-512(2)(P) on floor 2 areconfigured to receive uplink communications signals506U(2)(1)-506U(2)(P) from the client devices 508. The remote units512(M)(1)-512(M)(Q) on floor M are configured to receive uplinkcommunications signals 506U(M)(1)-506U(M)(Q) from the client devices508. The remote units 512(1)(1)-512(1)(N), 512(2)(1)-512(2)(P),512(M)(1)-512(M)(Q) are configured to distribute their received uplinkcommunications signals 506U(1)(1)-506U(1)(N), 506U(2)(1)-506U(2)(P),506U(M)(1)-506U(M)(Q) between respective adjacent remote units 512 amongthe remote units 512(1)(1)-512(1)(N), 512(2)(1)-512(2)(P),512(M)(1)-512(M)(Q) over the respective communications media510(1)(1-2)-510(1)(2-N), 510(2)(1-2)-510(2)(2-P),510(M)(1-2)-510(M)(2-Q) in a daisy-chain configuration so that theuplink communications signals 506U(1)(1)-506U(1)(N),506U(2)(1)-506U(2)(P), 506U(M)(1)-506U(M)(Q) eventually reach remoteunit 512(1)(N) to be distributed to the central unit 502, showncollectively as uplink communications signals 506U. For example, remoteunit 512(M)(1) is upstream communicatively coupled to radio sourceremote unit 512(R). Remote unit 512(M)(Q) is downstream communicativelycoupled to radio source remote unit 512(R).

With continuing reference to FIG. 5A, the DCS 500 also includes a radiosource remote unit 512(R), which is remote unit 512(M)(2) in thisexample. The radio source remote unit 512(R) is directly communicativelycoupled via a direct communicative coupling 514(R) to the remote radiosource 504(R) for distributing downlink communications signals 506D(R)and uplink communication signals 506U(R) between the remote radio source504(R) and other remote units 512 in the DCS 500. Just as for the radiosources 504(1)-504(A), the remote radio source 504(R) could be any typeof radio source that is configured to distribute communications signals.For example, the remote radio source 504(R) could be a cellular basestation. The direct communicative coupling 514(R) between the remoteradio source 504(R) and the radio source remote unit 512(R) could be adirect or indirect physically connected coupling, such as electricalconducting wire or optical fiber as non-limiting examples. The directcommunicative coupling 514(R) between the remote radio source 504(R) andthe radio source remote unit 512(R) could also be a wireless coupling asa non-limiting example.

In addition to being able to exchange the downlink and remote uplinkcommunications signals 506D(1)-506D(A), 506U(R) with the central unit502, the radio source remote unit 512(R) is also configured to receiveremote downlink communications signals 506D(R) from the remote radiosource 512(R) through the direct communicative coupling 514(R). Theradio source remote unit 512(R) is then configured to distribute thereceived remote downlink communications signals 506D(R) to a clientdevice 508 communicatively coupled to the radio source remote unit512(R). The radio source remote unit 512(R) is also configured todistribute the received remote downlink communications signals 506D(R)to the other remote units 512 in the daisy-chain communicationarrangement. The radio source remote unit 512(R) is also configured todistribute remote uplink communications signals 506U(R) received from aclient device 508 to the remote radio source 504(R) as remote uplinkcommunications signals 506U(R).

With continuing reference to FIG. 5A, the radio source remote unit512(R) is also configured to distribute received uplink communicationssignals 506U(1)(1)-506U(1)(N), 506U(2)(1)-506U(2)(P),506U(M)(1)-506U(M)(Q) received by one or more of the other remote units512(1)(1)-512(1)(N), 512(2)(1)-512(2)(P), 512(M)(1), 512(M)(3)-512(M)(Q)to the remote radio source 504(R) as remote uplink communicationssignals 506U(R). For example, the uplink communications signals506U(1)(1)-506U(1)(N), 506U(2)(1)-506U(2)(P), 506U(M)(1)-506U(M)(Q) maybe responses to distribution of the remote downlink communicationssignals 506D(R) by the radio source remote unit 512(R) to the otherrespective remote units 512(1)(1)-512(1)(N), 512(2)(1)-512(2)(P),512(M)(1), 512(M)(3)-512(M)(Q). In this example, the uplinkcommunications signals 506U(1)(1)-506U(1)(N), 506U(2)(1)-506U(2)(P),506U(M)(1)-506U(M)(Q) can be received by the radio source remote unit512(R) as remote uplink communications signals 506U(R) through thedaisy-chain communicative coupling of the remote units 512 to each otherin a daisy-chain configuration.

FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of an exemplary radio source remote unit512(R) in the DCS 500 in FIG. 5A. As discussed above, the radio sourceremote unit 512(R) supports direct communicative coupling to the remoteradio source 504(R) and a daisy-chain communicative coupling to otherremote units 512 in the DCS 500 in FIG. 5A, for distributingcommunications signals. In this regard, the radio source remote unit512(R) in this example includes a processing circuit 516 in the form ofdigital signal processor (DSP) block 518 in this example. The DSP 518 isconfigured to receive and distribute communications signals betweenvarious interfaces to support distribution of communications signals toand from the central unit 502, to and from the directly coupled remoteradio source 504(R), and to and from other adjacent coupled remote units512. It should be noted that the remote radio source 504(R) and theradio sources 504(1)-504(A) may generate more than a single channel.However for simplifying the explanation, it is assumed that the remoteradio source 504(R) and the radio sources 504(1)-504(A) provide aservice in a single channel.

In this regard, the radio source remote unit 512(R) includes an upstreaminput interface 520UI and an upstream output interface 520UO fordistributing communications signals to and from an upstreamcommunicatively coupled remote unit 512U. In this example, the upstreaminput interface 520UI is an optical interface. The upstream inputinterface 520UI is configured to receive the downlink communicationssignal 506D(1) as optical downlink communication signals from anupstream remote unit 512U. As discussed below, the DSP block 518distributes the downlink communications signal 506D(1) to respectiveband circuit 522(1) to be distributed wirelessly to client devices 508.Also in this example, the DSP block 518 is also configured to receivethe remote upstream uplink communications signals 506U(R)(U) through theupstream input interface 520UI to be distributed to the remote radiosource 504(R). This is in response to the received remote downlinkcommunications signals 506D(R) being distributed to other remote units512 over the upstream output interface 520UO. The DSP block 518 is alsoconfigured to distribute the downlink communications signals 506D(A)received from a downstream remote unit 512D discussed in more detailbelow over the upstream output interface 520UO to provide this signal tothe upstream remote unit 512U. The DSP block 518 is also configured todistribute the uplink communications signals 506U(1)-506U(A) receivedfrom the band circuits 522(1)-522(A) from client devices 508 over theupstream output interface 520UO to provide these signals to the upstreamremote unit 512U.

With continuing reference to FIG. 5B, the DSP block 518 is alsoconfigured to distribute communications signals to and from acommunicatively coupled downstream remote unit 512D. In this regard, theradio source remote unit 512(R) includes a downstream input interface520DI and a downstream output interface 520DO for distributingcommunications signals to and from a downstream communicatively coupledremote unit 512D. In this example, the downstream input interface 520DIis an optical interface. The downstream input interface 520DI isconfigured to receive the uplink communications signals 506U(1)-506U(A)from downstream remote units 512D as optical downlink communicationsignals. The DSP block 518 distributes the received uplinkcommunications signals 506U(1)-506U(A) to the upstream remote unit 512Uthrough the upstream output interface 520UO. Also in this example, theDSP block 518 is configured to receive the downlink communicationssignals 506D(2) from a downstream remote unit 512D through the downlinkinput interface 520DI to be distributed to the band circuit 522(A). TheDSP block 518 is also configured to distribute the downlinkcommunications signals 506D(1)-506D(A) received from an upstream remoteunit 512U over the upstream input interface 520UI to provide thesesignals to a downstream remote unit 512D over a downstream outputinterface 520DO. The DSP block 518 is also configured to distribute theremote upstream uplink communications signal 506U(R)(U) received fromthe upstream remote unit 512U over the upstream input interface 520UI,to the downstream remote unit 512D over the downstream output interface520DO. The DSP block 518 is also configured to distribute the downlinkcommunications signal 506D(1) received from the upstream remote unit512U over the upstream input interface 520UI, to the downstream remoteunit 512D over the downstream output interface 520DO. The DSP block 518is also configured to distribute the remote downlink communicationssignal 506D(R) received from the remote radio source 504R over thedirect communicative coupling 514(R) to the downstream remote unit 512Dover the downstream output interface 520DO.

With continuing reference to FIG. 5B, the DSP block 518 is configured todistribute the downlink communications signals 506D(1)-506D(A), 506D(R)to respective client device output interfaces 526O(1)-526O(A), 526O(R)to respective band circuits 522(1)-522(A), 522(R) to be distributed torespective client devices 508. In this regard, the client device outputinterfaces 526O(1)-526O(A), 526O(R) are coupled to respective bandcircuits 522(1)-522(A), 522(R) to process the received downlinkcommunications signals 506D(1)-506D(A), 506D(R) before being wirelesslytransmitted to client devices 508. For example, each band circuit522(1)-522(A), 522(R) may include a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)coupled to respective client device output interfaces 526O(1)-526O(A),526O(R) as shown in FIG. 5B, to convert the received downlinkcommunications signals 506D(1)-506D(A), 506D(R) from a digital format toan analog format. Each band circuit 522(1)-522(A), 522(R) may alsoinclude downlink (DL) RF circuits, as shown in FIG. 5B, to process(e.g., filter) the received downlink communications signals506D(1)-506D(A), 506D(R) into different radio bands. The DSP block 518may have also filtered the downlink communications signals506D(1)-506D(A), 506D(R) before being distributed to the differentclient device output interfaces 526O(1)-526O(A), 526O(R). The processeddownlink communications signals 506D(1)-506D(A), 506D(R) can then bewirelessly transmitted through wireless interface 528 to one or moreantennas 530 to be wirelessly transmitted.

With continuing reference to FIG. 5B, the DSP block 518 is alsoconfigured to receive uplink communications signals 506U(1)-506U(A) andremote uplink communications signals 506U(R) from client devices throughrespective client device input interfaces 526I(1)-526I(A), 526I(R). Inthis regard, the antenna 530 is configured to wirelessly receive theuplink communications signals 506U(1)-506U(A) and remote local uplinkcommunication signals 506U(R) and provide such signals to the respectiveband circuits 522(1)-522(A), 522(R) via the wireless interface 528. Thereceived uplink communications signals 506U(1)-506U(A) and remote localuplink communications signals 506U(R)(L) are provided to respectiveuplink (UL) RF circuits in the band circuits 522(1)-522(A), 522(R) forprocessing (e.g., filtering). The received uplink communications signals506U(1)-506U(A) and remote local uplink communications signals506U(R)(L) may also be provided to respective analog-to-digitalconverters (ADCs) to convert the uplink communications signals506U(1)-506U(A) and remote local uplink communications signals506U(R)(L) from an analog to a digital format, if for example, the DSPblock 518 is configured to process signals in a digital format, as isthe case in this example with the DSP block 518. The received uplinkcommunications signals 506U(1)-506U(A) and remote local uplinkcommunications signals 506U(R)(L) are then provided by the respectiveband circuits 522(1)-522(A), 522(R) to respective client device inputinterfaces 526I(1)-526I(A), 526I(R) to be provided to the DSP block 518.As previously discussed, the DSP block 518 is configured to route ordistribute the received uplink communications signals 506U(1)-506U(A) tothe upstream remote unit 512U over the upstream output interface 520UO.The DSP block 518 is configured to route or distribute the receivedremote local uplink communications signals 506U(R) and remote upstreamuplink communications signals 506U(R)(U) to the downstream outputinterface 520DO to be provided to the downstream remote unit 512D.

With continuing reference to FIG. 5B, the DSP block 518 is alsoconfigured to distribute the received remote upstream uplinkcommunications signals 506U(R)(U), remote downstream uplinkcommunications signals 506U(R)(D), and remote local uplinkcommunications signals 506U(R)(L) to the remote output interface 5240 tobe provided to the remote radio source 504(R). The DSP block 518 is alsoconfigured to receive the remote downlink communications signals 506D(R)over a remote input interface 5241 to be routed to the upstream remoteunit 520U and the downstream remote unit 520D, as previously described.

A distributed antenna system (DAS) is one exemplary type of DCS that caninclude one or more radio source remote units configured to be directlycommunicatively coupled to a remote radio source for exchanging remotedownlink and uplink communications signals between the remote radiosource and the DAS.

In this regard, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of exemplary DAS 600. TheDAS 600 in this example is an optical fiber-based DAS. The DAS 600 inthis example is comprised of three (3) main components. One or moreradio interfaces provided in the form of radio interface modules (RIMs)602(1)-602(T) are provided in a central unit 604 to receive and processdownlink electrical communications signals 606D(1)-606D(S) prior tooptical conversion into downlink optical communications signals. Thedownlink electrical communications signals 606D(1)-606D(S) may bereceived from a base station (not shown) as an example. The RIMs602(1)-602(T) provide both downlink and uplink interfaces for signalprocessing. The notations “1-S” and “1-T” indicate that any number ofthe referenced component, 1-S and 1-T, respectively, may be provided.

With continuing reference to FIG. 6, the central unit 604 is configuredto accept the 6 plurality of RIMs 602(1)-902(T) as modular componentsthat can easily be installed and removed or replaced in the central unit04. In one embodiment, the central unit 604 is configured to support upto twelve (12) RIMs 602(1)-602(12). Each RIM 602(1)-602(T) can bedesigned to support a particular type of radio source or range of radiosources (i.e., frequencies) to provide flexibility in configuring thecentral unit 604 and the multi-frequency DAS 600 to support the desiredradio sources. For example, one RIM 602 may be configured to support thePersonal Communication Services (PCS) radio band. Another RIM 602 may beconfigured to support the 700 MHz radio band. In this example, byinclusion of these RIMs 602, the central unit 604 could be configured tosupport and distribute communications signals on both PCS and LTE 700radio bands, as an example. RIMs 602 may be provided in the central unit604 that support any frequency bands desired, including but not limitedto the US Cellular band, Personal Communication Services (PCS) band,Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) band, 700 MHz band, Global System forMobile communications (GSM) 900, GSM 1800, and Universal MobileTelecommunication System (UMTS). The RIMs 602(1)-602(T) may also beprovided in the central unit 604 that support any wireless technologiesdesired, including but not limited to Code Division Multiple Access(CDMA), CDMA200, 1×RTT, Evolution-Data Only (EV-DO), UMTS, High-speedPacket Access (HSPA), GSM, General Packet Radio Services (GPRS),Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), iDEN, and Cellular Digital PacketData (CDPD).

The RIMs 602(1)-602(T) may be provided in the central unit 604 thatsupport any frequencies desired, including but not limited to US FCC andIndustry Canada frequencies (824-849 MHz on uplink and 869-894 MHz ondownlink), US FCC and Industry Canada frequencies (1850-1915 MHz onuplink and 1930-1995 MHz on downlink), US FCC and Industry Canadafrequencies (1710-1755 MHz on uplink and 2110-2155 MHz on downlink), USFCC frequencies (698-716 MHz and 776-787 MHz on uplink and 728-746 MHzon downlink), EU R & TTE frequencies (880-915 MHz on uplink and 925-960MHz on downlink), EU R & TTE frequencies (1710-1785 MHz on uplink and1805-1880 MHz on downlink), EU R & TTE frequencies (1920-1980 MHz onuplink and 2110-2170 MHz on downlink), US FCC frequencies (806-824 MHzon uplink and 851-869 MHz on downlink), US FCC frequencies (896-901 MHzon uplink and 929-941 MHz on downlink), US FCC frequencies (793-805 MHzon uplink and 763-775 MHz on downlink), and US FCC frequencies(2495-2690 MHz on uplink and downlink).

With continuing reference to FIG. 6, the downlink electricalcommunications signals 606D(1)-606D(S) are provided to a plurality ofoptical interfaces provided in the form of optical interface modules(OIMs) 608(1)-608(W) in this embodiment to convert the downlinkelectrical communications signals 606D(1)-606D(S) into downlink opticalcommunications signals 610D(1)-610D(S). The OIMs 608 may be configuredto provide one or more optical interface components (OICs) that containoptical-to-electrical (O/E) and electrical-to-optical (E/O) converters,as will be described in more detail below. The OIMs 608 support theradio bands that can be provided by the RIMs 602, including the examplespreviously described above.

The OIMs 608(1)-608(W) each include E/O converters to convert thedownlink electrical communications signals 606D(1)-606D(S) into thedownlink optical communications signals 610D(1)-610D(S). The downlinkoptical communications signals 610D(1)-610D(S) are communicated overdownlink optical fiber communications medium 612D to a plurality ofremote units provided in the form of remote antenna units 614(1)-614(X),which may be remote antenna units. The notation “1-X” indicates that anynumber of the referenced component 1-X may be provided. O/E convertersprovided in the remote antenna units 614(1)-614(X) convert the downlinkoptical communications signals 610D(1)-610D(S) back into the downlinkelectrical communications signals 606D(1)-606D(S), which are provided toantennas 616(1)-616(X) in the remote antenna units 614(1)-614(X) to userequipment (not shown) in the reception range of the antennas616(1)-616(X).

E/O converters are also provided in the remote antenna units614(1)-614(X) to convert uplink electrical communications signals620U(1)-620U(X) received from user equipment (not shown) through theantennas 616(1)-616(X) into uplink optical communications signals610U(1)-610U(S). The remote antenna units 614(1)-614(X) communicate theuplink optical communications signals 610U(1)-610U(S) over an uplinkoptical fiber communications medium 612U to the OIMs 608(1)-608(W) inthe central unit 604. The OIMs 608(1)-608(W) include O/E converters thatconvert the received uplink optical communications signals610U(1)-610U(S) into uplink electrical communications signals622U(1)-622U(X), which are processed by the RIMs 602(1)-602(T) andprovided as uplink electrical communications signals 622U(1)-622U(X).The central unit 604 may provide the uplink electrical communicationssignals 622U(1)-622U(X) to a base station or other communicationssystem.

Note that the downlink optical fiber communications medium 612D anduplink optical fiber communications medium 612U connected to each remoteantenna unit 614(1)-614(X) may be a common optical fiber communicationsmedium, wherein for example, wave division multiplexing (WDM) may beemployed to provide the downlink optical communications signals610D(1)-610D(S) and the uplink optical communications signals610U(1)-610U(S) on the same optical fiber communications medium.

With continuing reference to FIG. 6, the remote antenna unit 614(X) is aradio source remote antenna unit. The remote antenna unit 614(X) isdirectly communicatively coupled to a remote radio source 624(R) througha direct communicative coupling 926(R). The radio source remote antennaunit 614(X) is configured to receive remote downlink communicationssignals 620D(R) from the remote radio source 624(R) to be distributed toone or more of other remote antenna units 614(1)-614(X−1). In thisexample, the radio source remote antenna unit 614(X) distributes thereceived remote downlink communications signals 620D(R) to the centralunit 604 to then be distributed to one or more other remote antennaunits 614(1)-614(X−1). However, the radio source remote antenna unit614(X) could also be configured to distribute the received remotedownlink communications signals 620D(R) directly to one or more otherremote antenna units 614(1)-614(X−1) in a daisy-chain configuration, ifthe remote antenna units 614(1)-614(X) in the DAS 600 were configured ina daisy-chain configuration. All of the exemplary discussion above withregard to radio source remote units, remote radio sources, and DCSs canbe applied to the example DAS 600 in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram representation of additional detailillustrating a computer system 700 that could be employed in a radiosource remote unit, including those described above, for exchangingdownlink and uplink remote communications signals with a remote radiosource in a DCS. In this regard, the computer system 700 is adapted toexecute instructions from an exemplary computer-readable medium toperform these and/or any of the functions or processing describedherein.

In this regard, the computer system 700 in FIG. 7 may include a set ofinstructions that may be executed to predict frequency interference toavoid or reduce interference in a multi-frequency DAS. The computersystem 700 may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in aLAN, an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet. While only a singledevice is illustrated, the term “device” shall also be taken to includeany collection of devices that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein. The computer system 700 may be a circuitor circuits included in an electronic board card, such as, a printedcircuit board (PCB), a server, a personal computer, a desktop computer,a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a computing pad,a mobile device, or any other device, and may represent, for example, aserver or a user's computer.

The exemplary computer system 700 in this embodiment includes aprocessing device or processor 702, a main memory 704 (e.g., read-onlymemory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), such assynchronous DRAM (SDRAM), etc.), and a static memory 706 (e.g., flashmemory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), which may communicatewith each other via a data bus 708. Alternatively, the processor 702 maybe connected to the main memory 704 and/or static memory 706 directly orvia some other connectivity means. The processor 702 may be acontroller, and the main memory 704 or static memory 706 may be any typeof memory.

The processor 702 represents one or more general-purpose processingdevices, such as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like.More particularly, the processor 702 may be a complex instruction setcomputing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing(RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW)microprocessor, a processor implementing other instruction sets, orother processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. Theprocessor 702 is configured to execute processing logic in instructionsfor performing the operations and steps discussed herein.

The computer system 700 may further include a network interface device710. The computer system 700 also may or may not include an input 712,configured to receive input and selections to be communicated to thecomputer system 700 when executing instructions. The computer system 700also may or may not include an output 714, including but not limited toa display, a video display unit (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) ora cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device (e.g., akeyboard), and/or a cursor control device (e.g., a mouse).

The computer system 700 may or may not include a data storage devicethat includes instructions 716 stored in a computer-readable medium 718.The instructions 716 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 704 and/or within the processor 702 duringexecution thereof by the computer system 700, the main memory 704 and,the processor 702 also constituting computer-readable medium. Theinstructions 716 may further be transmitted or received over a network720 via the network interface device 710.

While the computer-readable medium 718 is shown in an exemplaryembodiment to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable medium”should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches andservers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any mediumthat is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying a set of instructionsfor execution by the processing device and that cause the processingdevice to perform any one or more of the methodologies of theembodiments disclosed herein. The term “computer-readable medium” shallaccordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-statememories, optical medium, and magnetic medium.

The embodiments disclosed herein include various steps. The steps of theembodiments disclosed herein may be formed by hardware components or maybe embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used tocause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with theinstructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, the steps may beperformed by a combination of hardware and software.

The embodiments disclosed herein may be provided as a computer programproduct, or software, that may include a machine-readable medium (orcomputer-readable medium) having stored thereon instructions, which maybe used to program a computer system (or other electronic devices) toperform a process according to the embodiments disclosed herein. Amachine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., acomputer). For example, a machine-readable medium includes: amachine-readable storage medium (e.g., ROM, random access memory(“RAM”), a magnetic disk storage medium, an optical storage medium,flash memory devices, etc.); and the like.

Unless specifically stated otherwise and as apparent from the previousdiscussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description,discussions utilizing terms such as “processing,” “computing,”“determining,” “displaying,” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device,that manipulates and transforms data and memories represented asphysical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registersinto other data similarly represented as physical quantities within thecomputer system memories or registers or other such information storage,transmission, or display devices.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various systems may beused with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it mayprove convenient to construct more specialized apparatuses to performthe required method steps. The required structure for a variety of thesesystems will appear from the description above. In addition, theembodiments described herein are not described with reference to anyparticular programming language. It will be appreciated that a varietyof programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of theembodiments as described herein.

Those of skill in the art will further appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithms describedin connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implementedas electronic hardware, instructions stored in memory or in anothercomputer-readable medium and executed by a processor or other processingdevice, or combinations of both. The components of the distributedantenna systems described herein may be employed in any circuit,hardware component, integrated circuit (IC), or IC chip, as examples.Memory disclosed herein may be any type and size of memory and may beconfigured to store any type of information desired. To clearlyillustrate this interchangeability, various illustrative components,blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generallyin terms of their functionality. How such functionality is implementeddepends on the particular application, design choices, and/or designconstraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans mayimplement the described functionality in varying ways for eachparticular application, but such implementation decisions should not beinterpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the presentembodiments.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implementedor performed with a processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field ProgrammableGate Array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, a discrete gateor transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Furthermore,a controller may be a processor. A processor may be a microprocessor,but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration).

The embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied in hardware and ininstructions that are stored in hardware, and may reside, for example,in RAM, flash memory, ROM, Electrically Programmable ROM (EPROM),Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, a hard disk,a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of computer-readablemedium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to theprocessor such that the processor can read information from, and writeinformation to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storagemedium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storagemedium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a remote station.In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside asdiscrete components in a remote station, base station, or server.

It is also noted that the operational steps described in any of theexemplary embodiments herein are described to provide examples anddiscussion. The operations described may be performed in numerousdifferent sequences other than the illustrated sequences. Furthermore,operations described in a single operational step may actually beperformed in a number of different steps. Additionally, one or moreoperational steps discussed in the exemplary embodiments may becombined. Those of skill in the art will also understand thatinformation and signals may be represented using any of a variety oftechnologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands,information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips, that may be referencesthroughout the above description, may be represented by voltages,currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields, or particles, opticalfields or particles, or any combination thereof.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that anymethod set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps beperformed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a method claim doesnot actually recite an order to be followed by its steps, or it is nototherwise specifically stated in the claims or descriptions that thesteps are to be limited to a specific order, it is in no way intendedthat any particular order be inferred.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Since modifications, combinations,sub-combinations and variations of the disclosed embodimentsincorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur topersons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to includeeverything within the scope of the appended claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of exchanging communications signals ina distributed communications system (DCS) with a remote radio sourcedirectly communicatively coupled to a remote unit in the DCS,comprising: receiving downlink communications signals in a central unitfrom at least one radio source communicatively coupled to the centralunit; distributing the downlink communications signals from the centralunit to be received by a plurality of remote units; receiving uplinkcommunications signals in the central unit received by the plurality ofremote units; receiving the downlink communications signals in one ormore of the plurality of remote units; distributing the downlinkcommunications signals from the one or more of the plurality of remoteunits to at least one client device; receiving uplink communicationssignals from the at least one client device; distributing the receiveduplink communications signals from one or more of the plurality ofremote units to be received by the central unit; receiving remotedownlink communications signals in a radio source remote unit among theplurality of remote units, from at least one remote radio sourcedirectly communicatively coupled to the radio source remote unit;distributing the remote downlink communications signals from the radiosource remote unit to at least one client device; distributing theremote downlink communications signals from the radio source remote unitto be received by at least one other remote unit among the plurality ofremote units; distributing the uplink communications signals receivedfrom the at least one client device to the at least one remote radiosource; and distributing the uplink communications signals received byat least one remote unit among the plurality of remote units to the atleast one remote radio source.
 2. The method of claim 1, comprisingreceiving the remote downlink communications signals in the radio sourceremote unit from the at least one remote radio source physicallyconnected to the radio source remote unit.
 3. The method of claim 2,comprising receiving the remote downlink communications signals in theradio source remote unit from the at least one remote radio sourcedirectly physically connected to the radio source remote unit.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, comprising receiving the remote downlinkcommunications signals in the radio source remote unit from the at leastone remote radio source wirelessly connected to the radio source remoteunit.
 5. The method of claim 1, comprising: distributing the downlinkcommunications signals from the central unit directly to the pluralityof remote units; receiving the uplink communications signals in thecentral unit directly from the plurality of remote units; receiving thedownlink communications signals directly from the central unit in eachof the plurality of remote units; distributing the downlinkcommunications signals from each of the plurality of remote units to atleast one client device; and receiving the uplink communications signalsfrom the at least one client device in each of the plurality of remoteunits.
 6. The method of claim 5, comprising: distributing the receiveduplink communications signals from each of the plurality of remote unitsdirectly to the central unit; distributing the remote downlinkcommunications signals from the radio source remote units directly tothe central unit; and distributing the uplink communications signalsreceived directly from the central unit to the at least one remote radiosource.
 7. The method of claim 1, comprising: distributing the downlinkcommunications signals to one or more upstream remote units among theplurality of remote units; receiving upstream uplink communicationssignals from the one or more upstream remote units; receiving thedownlink communications signals in one or more downstream remote unitsamong the plurality of remote units, from the one or more upstreamremote units; distributing the downlink communications signals from theone or more downstream remote units to at least one client device;receiving the uplink communications signals from the at least one clientdevice in the one or more downstream remote units; and distributing thereceived uplink communications signals from the one or more downstreamremote units to the one or more upstream remote units.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, comprising: receiving upstream downlink communications signalsin one or more radio source remote units among the plurality of remoteunits, from the one or more upstream remote units; distributing theupstream downlink communications signals from the one or more radiosource remote units to at least one client device; distributing theuplink communications signals as upstream uplink communications signalsfrom the one or more radio source remote units to the one or moreupstream remote units; receiving downstream downlink communicationssignals from the one or more downstream remote units in the one or moreradio source remote units; distributing the downstream downlinkcommunications signals from the one or more radio source remote units toat least one client device; and distributing the uplink communicationssignals as downstream uplink communications signals from the one or moreradio source remote units to the one or more downstream remote units. 9.The method of claim 8, further comprising: distributing the receiveduplink communications signals from the at least one client device, fromthe one or more radio source remote units to the at least one remoteradio source; distributing the received upstream uplink communicationssignals from the one or more upstream remote units, from the one or moreradio source remote units to the at least one remote radio source; anddistributing the received downstream uplink communications signals fromthe one or more upstream remote units, from the one or more radio sourceremote units to the at least one remote radio source.
 10. A remote unitfor exchanging communications signals in a distributed communicationssystem (DCS) comprising: an input interface configured to receivedownlink communications signals in a DCS; a client device outputinterface configured to distribute the received downlink communicationssignals to at least one client device; a client device input interfaceconfigured to receive uplink communications signals from the at leastone client device; an output interface configured to distribute thereceived uplink communications signals to be received by a central unit;a remote input interface configured to receive remote downlinkcommunications signals from one or more radio source remote unitsdirectly communicatively coupled to the remote unit; the input interfaceconfigured to distribute the remote downlink communications signals tobe received by at least one other remote unit among a plurality ofremote units; a remote output interface configured to distribute theuplink communications signals received from the at least one clientdevice to at least one remote radio source; and the remote outputinterface configured to distribute the uplink communications signalsreceived by the at least one other remote unit among the plurality ofremote units to the at least one remote radio source.
 11. The remoteunit of claim 10, wherein: the input interface is configured to receivethe downlink communications signals directly from the central unit; theclient device output interface is configured to distribute the downlinkcommunications signals to at least one client device; and the clientdevice input interface is configured to receive the uplinkcommunications signals from the at least one client device.
 12. Theremote unit of claim 11, wherein: the output interface is configured todistribute the received uplink communications signals directly to thecentral unit; the input interface is configured to distribute the remotedownlink communications signals directly to the central unit in the DCS;and the remote output interface is configured to distribute the uplinkcommunications signals received directly from the central unit to the atleast one remote radio source.
 13. The remote unit of claim 12, furthercomprising at least one band circuit configured to: receive the downlinkcommunications signals to be distributed to the at least one clientdevice; receive the remote downlink communications signals to bedistributed to the at least one client device; and receive the uplinkcommunications signals from at least one client device.
 14. The remoteunit of claim 11, further comprising a digital processing circuitconfigured to: route the remote downlink communications signals to theat least one client device; route the remote downlink communicationssignals to be received by the at least one other remote unit among theplurality of remote units; route the uplink communications signalsreceived from the at least one client device to the at least one remoteradio source; and route the uplink communications signals received by atleast one other remote unit among the plurality of remote units to theat least one remote radio source.
 15. The remote device of claim 10,wherein: the input interface comprises an upstream input interfaceconfigured to receive upstream downlink communications signals from oneor more upstream remote units; the client device output interfaceconfigured to distribute the upstream downlink communications signals tothe at least one client device and distribute downstream downlinkcommunications signals to the at least one client device; an upstreamoutput interface configured to distribute the uplink communicationssignals as upstream uplink communications signals to the one or moreupstream remote units; the input interface comprises a downstream inputinterface configured to receive downstream downlink communicationssignals from the one or more downstream remote units; and the outputinterface further comprises a downstream output interface configured todistribute downstream uplink communications signals to the one or moredownstream remote units.
 16. The remote unit of claim 15, furthercomprising: the remote output interface configured to distribute thereceived uplink communications signals from the at least one clientdevice and the received upstream uplink communications signals from theone or more upstream remote units to the at least one remote radiosource; and the remote input interface configured to distribute thereceived downstream uplink communications signals from the one or moreupstream remote units to the at least one remote radio source.
 17. Theremote unit of claim 16, further comprising at least one band circuitconfigured to: receive the upstream downlink communications signals fromthe one or more upstream remote units to be distributed to at least oneclient device; and filter the received upstream downlink communicationsignals to at least one radio-frequency (RF) band; receive the uplinkcommunications signals from at least one client device to be distributedas the upstream uplink communications signals to the one or moreupstream remote units; filter the received uplink communication signalsto at least one radio-frequency (RF) band; receive the downstreamdownlink communications signals from the one or more downstream remoteunits to be distributed to the at least one client device; filter thereceived downstream downlink communications signals to at least oneradio-frequency (RF) band; receive the uplink communications signalsfrom at least one client device to distribute the uplink communicationssignals as the downstream uplink communications signals to the one ormore downstream remote units; and filter the received uplinkcommunication signals from the at least one client device to at leastone radio-frequency (RF) band.
 18. The remote unit of claim 10, furthercomprising a digital processing circuit configured to: route the remotedownlink communications signals to the at least one client device; routethe remote downlink communications signals to be received by the atleast one other remote unit among the plurality of remote units; routethe uplink communications signals received from the at least one clientdevice to the at least one remote radio source; and route the uplinkcommunications signals received by at least one other remote unit amongthe plurality of remote units to the at least one remote radio source.